Rebirthing
by Taisho Samara
Summary: A dangerous mission, a collapsing cave, Inner Sakura, and two shinobi stuck together, just waiting for the oxygen to run out... Who do they meet when they escape? OneShot SongFic for Neji/Sakura


A/N: Kaiso-chan here! I heard this song and was immediately picturing ideas for this OneShot SongFic! I hope that my readers out there will enjoy this story as much as I am just thinking about it! However, Neji may end up a bit OoC… Sorry if that happens…

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the lyrics to Rebirthing by Skillet… If I owned Naruto… NEJI WOULD BE MINE!!! (Or the Neji/Sakura shipping would become official in the show…)

Enjoy!

**Rebirthing**

The sight was appalling; there was blood everywhere, trees uprooted, craters in the ground, and weapons lying in every possible nook and cranny. The blood, luckily enough, belonged to the enemy…

This mission was an A-Ranked mission. The object of this particular mission was to retrieve a scroll containing vital information pertaining to Konoha that had been stolen from the Land of Fire. Two shinobi were sent out to recover this scroll, and were able to defeat almost every group of enemy ninja that were sent to delay their advance, but not without some severe injuries…

_I lie here paralytic _

_Inside this soul_

_Screaming for you _

_'Till my throat is numb_

"H-Haruno!" croaked her teammate somewhere among the other fallen shinobi. Sure she heard him alright, but finding him among all of these dead ninja was like finding a needle in a haystack.

"Neji-san! Please hold on! Just keep calling out to me so that I can find you!" she replied, wincing as she started moving again to the sound of his voice. She had a nice long gash on her side from where some Oto-nin surprised her from behind, slashing at her hip with a kunai. Luckily it hadn't been too deep. If Neji couldn't even bring himself to walk in order to find her, he was in worse condition than she was.

He complied to her demands, calling for her again, a little stronger this time, pushing his limits. He could hear her footsteps coming closer. Once more he called for her, trying to move a little in order to catch her eye.

"Neji-san!"

He heard her footsteps quicken; she was running towards him, but he could tell there was something wrong with her as well. Every couple of steps she took there would be a slight pause before he heard another. Something was causing her to limp.

He heard her collapse at his side, and he felt her hands running over his body in her search for his vital wounds. He felt her healing chakra enter his body, restoring his cells into perfect condition.

When she was through, the more serious injuries were gone and he was able to stand, but Sakura was left exhausted, having only enough energy to slightly heal the gash on her side. With Neji's help she was able to stand up on her feet and walk, both of them searching for some type of shelter for the night before they went off in search of the enemy yet again.

They managed to find a cave a little ways away and within the span of a half hour they made it to the entrance, panting heavily.

Though exhausted, Sakura heard the sharp sound of a kunai cutting through the air, and with the extra energy that came with the burst of adrenaline she felt, she was able to get Neji and herself out of the way before the deadly weapon was able to hit its target.

Neji was able to see the approaching Sound Nin even without his Byakugan. He realized that they were practically cornered, and in their weakened state, they could only go farther into the cave.

_I wanna break out_

_I need a way out_

_I don't believe that it's gotta be this way_

_The worst it the waiting_

They went as deep into the cave as they could, far enough in where they could barely see the light from the exit. In the little light that there was, they were able to make out four figures standing at the entrance.

Neji and Sakura could hear them talking amongst themselves, for the cave's echo amplified their voices.

"They're in here. I saw them come in," reported one of the enemy shinobi.

"Hn…" One of the others sounded like he was contemplating the next move. "Bring it down. I don't want to see anything but rubble when you're done with this cave," he ordered, apparently in charge of the whole operation.

Neji and Sakura tensed up. That couldn't be good.

'_Kuso! We can barely move, much less survive a collapsing cave! And going out through the entrance definitely isn't an option!' _screamed Sakura in her mind. She didn't want to die now! Not while she was enjoying her life's prime! For Kami's sake, she was finally able to move on for the first time in her life since Sasuke left! She still had to admit to the man beside her that she had feelings for him!

Little did she know that Neji was thinking along those same lines…

"Hai, Sasuke-kun!" chirped a more girly voice.

Though Sakura should've been shocked, she couldn't exactly say that she was surprised…

The two saw one of the four figures start to move away from the cave, while the others started posting explosive tags everywhere.

The one girl spoke again.

"Alright, that's enough you morons! I can finish it from here!"

"Karin! You little bitch!" roared one of the remaining three, while the other just remained silent.

The one called Karin didn't retort back; she only formed a series of hand signs, directing her jutsu to the back of the cave.

"Yama Torikowasu no Jutsu!" she screeched as a blast of light was sent into the cave's ceiling, already starting the collapse of the cave while also effectively setting off the explosive notes.

The three suddenly disappeared, leaving Neji and Sakura to their fate.

The cave shook violently, sending rubble and boulders crashing to the ground and blocking whatever chance of escape they had.

Neji looked up in time to see the ceiling directly above where they stood was also beginning to collapse. Using whatever strength he had left, he held Sakura tightly to his side, protecting her from everything that was falling upon them.

"Hakkesho Kaiten!"

All Sakura felt was the warmth of Neji's body against hers while experiencing a spinning feeling. She didn't dare loosen her hold on whatever piece of Neji's shirt she held, and kept her eyes closed until Neji stopped his rotation.

As he stopped, he collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, his chakra levels extremely low. Sakura lied on top of him, preparing for the heavy stone to come crashing down on top of them. But they never came…

Sakura opened her eyes and looked to the top limit in awe; Neji's Kaiten not only stopped the boulders from crushing them, but it pushed them back and practically welded them into place! Oh, the wonders of chakra…

From her light pack, Sakura grabbed an electrical lantern, allowing the two defenseless shinobi to have light.

_In this __room__ I'm suffocating_

_Feel your presence filling up my lungs with oxygen_

_I take you in_

_I've died_

Sakura looked to Neji again. His eyes were closed, making him appear to be unconscious, but she knew that wasn't the case. He was still awake, but entirely exhausted. Even though she was slightly better off than he was at the moment, she knew that if they didn't do something soon, they were going to run out of oxygen.

The collapsed cave tunnel was so tightly packed together that no air was able to get through even when it came across the largest of the cracks. The oxygen in the small air pocket they were in would probably only last for the better part of an hour…

Neji forced himself to open his eyes and sit up, staring at Sakura before looking around at his surroundings. Within moments he came to the same conclusion as Sakura had; they were trapped here…

"Haruno…" he whispered, too tired to fully use his voice. "Are you hurt?"

Sakura looked at Neji and shook her head, not wasting her breath on the valuable oxygen when it wasn't needed.

For a long time they were silent, be it five minutes or ten they couldn't tell. During this time, Sakura slipped into a meditative state, trying to think of a way out of their hopeless situation.

Coming up with nothing and not being able to take the silence any longer, she spoke softly to the man beside her.

"You know, Neji-san, I not sure if I should say this, but seeing as there's almost no chance of getting out of here, I might as well…" She paced her breaths as she said this, taking in as little air as possible. Already, it was getting thick…

Neji nodded, signaling for her to continue.

"I hope that you don't think me pathetic for saying this, but I don't want to have lived my life without telling you. I… I think that I have feelings for you, Neji-san…" she admitted quietly, as if any louder would be enough to bring the rest of the cave down.

Neji's eyes widened considerably as she revealed this to him. He knew that he himself had feelings for her, but never had he expected her to return them. Silently, he reached his hand towards Sakura's, grasping it softly yet firmly.

"I guess there's no need to call you Haruno anymore, Sakura…" His eyes met hers and held her gaze. "I believe now would be the perfect time to tell you that I too have feelings for you," he admitted as well, bringing her hand to his lips and pressing his lips to it tenderly.

Sakura slowly took her hand away from the Hyuga's grasp and wrapped her arms around his neck in a light hug, trying not to knock the wind out of him.

_Rebirthing now_

_I wanna live for love wanna live for you and me_

_Breathe for the first time now_

_I came alive somehow_

Neji returned the hug after getting over the initial shock. When she released her hold on him, he sent her a questioning glance.

"I'm going to do something to get us out of here, but please, don't tell anyone about what you'll hear or see," she told him, receiving yet another confused glance from the Hyuga beside her. "Please Neji, just trust me and don't reveal this to anyone! No one knows about it!" she pleaded.

Though he was skeptical, seeing how desperate Sakura was to not let anyone know her secret made him nod his head in agreement.

"Arigato Neji," she whispered in thanks, before slipping into a meditative state, gathering whatever chakra she could get.

"What do you plan on doing Sakura?" softly inquired the silver-eyed shinobi, letting his eyes lock onto Sakura's motionless form.

"I'm going to release my Inner… All I have to do is gather enough chakra to release her from my mind, and then she, or I rather, will do the rest," she informed him, concentrating on calling the figment out from her recesses.

Her response only opened up more questions instead of answering them, so therefore he remained silent, intent on watching her as she performed her technique.

They were silent for quite a while, gathering their strength. Though they weren't exactly well rested, they were better off than they were before.

_Rebirthing now_

_I wanna live my life wanna give you everything_

_Breathe for the first time now_

_I've come alive somehow_

After what seemed like the longest thirty minutes of his life, Neji finally saw Sakura move. Her hands were brought together in the hand sign for release, and he saw that her brow was furrowed in concentration. He could hear her breathe coming out in ragged pants, and soon after she let out a warrior cry, letting her technique commence.

Somewhere in her howl he was able to make out a "Brace yourself!" and the ever so distinguishable "KAI!".

A bright flash of light and a blood-curling scream rang out throughout the small air pocket. The bright light died down almost instantly, but the screaming continued. In the dim light of Sakura's electrical lamp he was able to make out her small form writhing on the ground, obviously in pain.

Though he wanted to rush over to Sakura's side and help her, he was kept against the cave wall by some unknown force, helpless as another flash of light came from Sakura's body, and another scream filled the air.

All of a sudden, the light and the shrill screaming abruptly came to a stop. The light of the lantern was not nearly as bright as the previous flash, and Neji was able to move from his place against the wall over to Sakura's side.

She was still lying on the ground, sprawled out on the floor. He noticed that a change had come over her when she had released her "Inner", as she had called it. The woman before him no longer had the soft pink hair that he was so used to, but pure raven black. On her forehead he was able to make out the words "Inner Sakura".

Trying to inspect her even more closely, he was surprised when she moved and tried to stand up.

"Sakura?" he tried, hoping that she would be able to speak to him.

Inner Sakura smirked.

"Oi, Hyuga, stop staring at me like that. Kinda creepy," she mumbled, stretching her limbs. "It's about time I was put in control! Kami, it feels great to be able to stretch!"

"…" Neji was purely speechless. This definitely wasn't the Sakura that he knew!

It was as if all of a sudden, the air became almost too thick to breathe in for much longer. Inner Sakura could hear Sakura yelling at her from the recesses of her own mind.

"Hai, hai… I get it! Stop yelling at me, kuso!" roared Inner Sakura, hoping to get her "outer" self to shut up. "I guess this is how you feel when I'm talking to you! Dammit! I get the point!"

From what Neji could tell, this Sakura wasn't even talking to him, but instead talking to herself. How interesting.

"Sakura?" he tried again, hoping she would answer him.

"Yoshi, Hyuga, starting off, I'm not your little 'Sakura'… Well, technically I am, but I'm - You know what? Let's get out of here first!" she exclaimed, putting her hands together in a form resembling a gun.

Because Inner Sakura is almost another being entirely, she has her own separate supply of chakra. Meaning, she's able to perform whatever techniques Sakura is able to perform until her chakra runs out, causing her to revert back to "Sakura".

Neji watched in pure wonder as "Inner" Sakura collected a great amount of chakra in the tips of her fingers, so much so that he was able to see it without the help of Byakugan.

"Prepare yourself, Hyuga! This is it!" she cried out in warning.

_Right now, Right now_

_I lie here lifeless in this cocoon _

_Shedding my skin 'cause_

_I'm ready to_

"Sakura Dangan no Jutsu!"

The chakra surrounding her fingertips shot out immediately, its size changing due to the amount of chakra poured into the attack. The whole diameter of her constant chakra bullet was at least three feet wide, and it easily shattered through the tightly packed rock.

Within moments, Inner Sakura felt her chakra break through the easily thousand feet of collapsed tunnel of rock, and allowed herself to release the jutsu, letting out a sigh due to fatigue. Fresh air quickly took up was space was opened up by the destroying of the rock, allowing the two trapped shinobi to let out a sigh of relief.

Clearly tired but not exactly exhausted from using all that chakra at once, Inner Sakura made her way over to her battery powered lamp and turned it off, returning it to her pack.

With another sigh, she turned to a tense Neji saying, "Alright Hyuga, I know for a fact that you have questions, and you can ask me all you want to know as we crawl out of this little tunnel. Got it? Good. Shannaro! Iku ze!"

Hesitant at first, Neji followed after Inner Sakura as she entered the small space, finally figuring out a good number of questions he wanted to ask as he entered the tunnel after Inner Sakura.

_I wanna break out, I found a way out_

_I don't believe that it's gotta be this way_

_The worst is the waiting_

_In this room I'm suffocating_

"What exactly are you?" he inquired, wracking his brain for possibilities.

"I believe your Sakura refers to me as Inner Sakura," he heard her say from in front of him. "I'm a separate being from Sakura entirely, but I am a part of her, if that makes any sense to you. I guess you could say that I'm the more violent and outgoing of the two of us…"

Still a little confused, Neji took a few seconds to even respond.

"Any more questions, Pretty Boy?"

Normally, anyone who dared to talk to Hyuga Neji like that would be in for the beat down of their lives, but in this case, this person was Sakura, or "Inner Sakura", and everything was just too confusing and different at the moment for Neji to even be in his normal behavior…

"Aa, hai… What happened to Sakura?" It was obvious that he was concerned about her. It took him forever just to be able to admit his feelings, and to find out that she returned them only made him even more concerned about her wellbeing.

"She's fine, Hyuga. No need to worry. She's resting for now and will come out either when she's strong enough to survive without me, or until I run out of chakra… You know, by bringing me out, she's really sticking her neck out for you…" she finished softly.

A gust of wind blew softly through the tunnel, caressing the faces of the two ninja ever so tenderly.

That only brought up another question; how was Sakura sticking her neck out for him by summoning her Inner to help them out? It didn't make sense, but the fact that Sakura seemed willing to do that for him made his breath hitch in his throat.

_Feel your presence, _

_Filling up my lungs with oxygen_

_I take you in_

_I've died_

Before he could ask his next question, Inner Sakura spoke again, apparently talking to herself.

"I still don't understand why you were willing to do that for him…" he heard her mumble, trying not to let him hear her.

"Do what for whom?" questioned the prodigy.

"Eh? Guess I wasn't quiet enough, ne? Very well, remember all that screaming when I was being brought forth, Hyuga?" she asked, smirking as the Sakura in her mind was screaming at her to not continue… Yeah right, like she'd stop now…

"…"

Yes, he did remember that, and he remembered how the only thing running through his mind was how he should somehow find a way to stop her pain.

Inner Sakura took his silence as a reason to continue.

"That, Pretty Boy, was the sound of your sweet little Sakura being drained of fifteen years of her natural life. If she's never killed in battle, she'll die fifteen years earlier than she's supposed to. How's that for a bitter-sweet moment, eh?" Inner Sakura chuckled sadly. "She's happy in being able to save your life, and yet, against my own judgment, and even though I'm happy to be able to be in control for this short amount of time, she's losing what could be a good long life…"

_So that was why she wanted me to promise her…_ thought Neji, his eyes slightly wider than normal. Immediately following his surprise, Neji was consumed by rage, fueled by his concern for Sakura's health. "But why would she force herself to go through that!? We could've found some other way out!"

Even as he yelled that to the young woman in front of him, he knew it was a lie. The two of them never would've been able to collect enough chakra to escape… They really would've died.

"Stop lying to yourself, Hyuga!" snapped the raven-haired kunoichi. "I was completely set against her choice as well, but the way she reasoned this with me, I finally gave in…"

"Oh? And what could she have said to make you change your mind?" he all but snarled in return. The fact that Sakura just gave up fifteen years of her natural life for him weighed heavily on his conscience. What, if after they made it back to Konoha, it didn't work out between them? Would she regret this? She shouldn't have to waste her life on something that may not even become a reality.

"You know, one of the few things we have in common, my outer being and I, we're both suckers for sappy love stories…" Inner Sakura muttered, smiling sadly.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Her exact words to me when I questioned her choice were, 'I have something to live for now'. When she said that, I knew we couldn't let your lives end like this… You both, despite the fifteen years she lost, have so much to live for. Why waste it Hyuga?"

_Rebirthing now_

_I wanna live for love wanna live for you and me_

_Breathe for the first time now_

_I've come alive somehow_

He took those words to heart and was silent for awhile longer, his rage quickly dwindling away. It surprised him to hear Inner Sakura actually voice the things he was thinking at that next moment.

"You know, it's been almost five years since Sasuke left her, and until recently, she hasn't been able to fully get over it. That is, until Tsunade-sama started sending you and her on more missions together," she informed him, still crawling forward, already having made their way through just over half of the cave. "You infuriated her, me especially, and yet she found you a great person to carry out intellectual conversations with, getting her mind off of everything that made her miserable. Only with your help were we both able to get over Sasuke, and for that, I thank you."

She paused momentarily, in which Neji could only assume meant she was listening to her outer self.

"Hai, I'll tell him…"

"Yes?" he murmured, almost inaudible to the raven-haired girl in front of him.

"She says that you're no replacement for the Uchiha and you never will be. She likes you for who you are and realizes that you are two completely different people, while you two do share a couple of similarities. She truly hopes that you do not believe that is the reason she's fallen for you."

"It never crossed my mind," he replied, smirking slightly.

"Yoshi, were out Hyuga. I think you and Sakura will be able to get on well enough without me here," she commented, diving out of the tunnel with Neji following behind her. "I hope that the circumstances in the future never allow us to meet again."

With a quick bow and hand sign, Inner Sakura was surrounded in a thick black smoke, and a distinguishable _**POP**_ could be heard as the figment returned to her home in Sakura's mind.

Neji stood in place, watching as the smoke dissipated in the air, revealing an exhausted Sakura who looked just about ready to collapse where she stood. Within a second he was at her side, supporting her gently.

_Rebirthing now_

_I wanna live my life wanna give you everything_

_Breathe for the first time now_

_I've come alive somehow_

"A-Arigato Neji-kun," she whispered softly, sending him a small yet lovely smile.

Neji nodded his head, a ghost of a smile gracing his features.

"I thought she would only let you out when you regained your strength, Sakura…" he murmured into her ear, looking down into her sharp yet tired emerald eyes.

Sakura allowed herself to giggle quietly. "It's fine, Neji-kun… My Inner transferred whatever chakra she had left into my system before she returned to her home in my thoughts. It's just a lot to take in right now… I'm fine."

"If you were fine you wouldn't be trying to stand with my help, Sakura," he scoffed teasingly. "Perhaps I could carry you until you are able to travel without much assistance… We can request reinforcements from the village when we return before we set out for the scroll again."

Sakura blushed lightly at the thought of Neji carrying her. He noticed this and was about to tease her a little more when his head snapped up to look into the surrounding foliage; he sensed a figure heading towards them, and the chakra this person emitted had the feeling, if it could even be called that, of bloodlust coming off of it in waves.

"What is it Neji-kun?" inquired the rosette, sensing his discomfort.

She was answered with Neji's arm snaking around her waist and the feeling of being pulled away from where they were previously standing. The evident sound of kunai imbedding themselves into the ground was a clear sign of what had Neji on edge.

"Uchiha…"

"Hyuga…" the Sharingan wielder replied venomously.

"What is it that you want?" inquired the branch child, glaring harshly at the raven-haired man.

"What I want is to know what being allowed you two to escape…" coolly replied Sasuke, glaring back with equal fervor. "That chakra signal that came from this direction was too powerful for it to have come from the two chakra deprived shinobi left to die in that cave…"

The tone in his voice and the look in his eyes was enough to make Sakura bury her face into Neji's chest, nuzzling her cheek against the soft fabric of his jacket.

"Why should it matter who it was who released us when we're both standing out here? If this person's signature was so strong and unique, you should be able to track it down instead of wasting your time and chakra on us," spat the Hyuga, possessively holding Sakura in place.

"That's the thing, Hyuga… I can still sense it, and to my disbelief, it's standing right in front of me… Right, _Sakura_-_chan_?" he smoothly inquired, grinning as he saw Sakura tense up and clench even tighter to Neji's shirt.

_Tell me when I'm gonna live again_

_Tell me when I'm gonna breathe you in_

_Tell me what I'm gonna feel inside_

_Tell me when I'm gonna feel alive_

"What I want to know is how you did it… It's impossible for me to believe that the weakest link of Team 7 was able to do such a thing…"

Neji growled low in his throat, ready to attack for insulting Sakura like that, but she spoke up before he had the chance.

"I wouldn't expect you to know about it at all Sasuke… All you ever did was ignore me, so it's no surprise that you wouldn't know about my abilities…" she accused somberly, glaring at him just as harshly as the two men around her were.

"Hn… Then let's test those abilities, shall we?" The Uchiha lunged at the couple, catching them off guard and allowing him to separate the two with ease.

Using the heels of her combat boots, Sakura was able to keep herself from being thrown back too far, putting her arms in front of her face defensively.

Neji was able to counter the throw with a back-flip, using chakra to catch himself on the side of a tree before pushing off of the tree, a kunai poised and ready to strike the Uchiha.

Sasuke dodged easily, grabbing Neji by the ankle and once again throwing him into a tree, which this time was not countered.

Sakura could only watch as Neji was thrown like a rag doll out of Sasuke's way. Considering the odds, there was no way she could do this alone.

As Sasuke approached her, ever so slowly as if challenging her to make a move, Sakura bit down on her thumb, drawing out blood.

"Hn… What do you plan on doing, Sakura-chan?" hissed Sasuke. "Are you summoning the well-known slugs of your sensei? A bit obvious, ne?"

Sakura's glare only intensified as she slammed her now bloody hand onto the ground, biting out a, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Sasuke only smirked, deciding to charge in at full speed while gathering up his chakra for a Chidori. A slug summon would never be able to match his speed.

From his spot against the tree, Neji could only watch helplessly as Sasuke's wrist crackled and sparked due to his massive accumulation of lightning chakra. From the pain coming from his leg, he knew something was broken, or at least severely fractured, leaving him immobile as Sasuke's lethal blow prepared to hit Sakura, and as that thought crossed his mind, it took all of his self-control to keep from vomiting; that's how scared he was for Sakura.

"Go!" he heard her cry out, deafening roars meeting his ears afterwards.

Through the smoke he could see movement, and as it dissipated, he was able to see Sasuke being held down by at least five different felines, the smallest of which holding down the arm that held Chidori.

Within seconds, Chidori was rendered useless, but Sasuke struggled out of the felines' grasps, holding onto his now chakra deprived arm.

"What is this!?" exclaimed the Uchiha, purely baffled.

Sakura smirked tiredly, supporting herself against the body of a white tigress behind her.

"I never took up Tsunade-shishou's summoning contract. Instead I sealed my blood into Koraseru's contract," she practically panted out.

The white tigress, Koraseru, growled threateningly at the Uchiha, as if daring him to move closer.

The little kitten that had dispelled the Chidori remained at the ready, preparing to once again grasp Sasuke's arm if he attempted another Chidori.

How was such a small kitten able to dispel such a powerful technique like Chidori, you may have asked. Sasuke pondered the same thing, and demanded an answer from Sakura.

"Koneko-chan may be small, but she is not affected by chakra in the harmful way. Instead, she eats it, becoming stronger as your energy is drained," she replied smoothly, placing her hand over her chest in an attempt to catch her breath.

Koraseru positioned her large head by Sakura's ear, purring, "What do you wish for us to do, deshi?" into her ear, audible to everyone around them.

Sakura thought for a moment appearing to ignore Koraseru's question altogether. When she spoke again, she didn't even address the white tigress, which, to Neji's surprise, didn't seem to bother it.

"Kima-kun, Junshin-san, keep Neji-kun safe, kudasai," she requested, relieved that Sasuke wouldn't be hurting Neji without a fight. "And also check over his wounds…"

_Tell me when I'm gonna live again_

_Tell me when this fear will end_

_Tell me what I'm gonna feel inside_

_Tell me when I'm gonna feel alive_

"What will you have us do Sakura-hime?" inquired Koneko in her small voice.

Sasuke scoffed spitefully. "'Sakura-hime'? That's what you're called now?"

Sakura glared furiously at him, putting her hands together once again in the form of a gun.

The felines surrounding Sasuke all tensed up when they sensed him collecting his chakra into his wrist once again and were about to pounce when Sakura's authoritive "Stand down!" met their ears, causing them to back away slowly and hesitantly.

"Well then, Sakura, I'll be sure to have it engraved upon your tombstone!" roared the Uchiha, bursting into motion with his Chidori chirping wildly.

"Sakura!"

"Sakura Dangan no Jutsu!"

Neji and Sakura's voices coincided with each other perfectly, the only difference being Neji's voice laced with worry while Sakura's held righteous fury. Just as Sasuke was about to land his blow to Sakura's chest, the chakra that Sakura was accumulating was released from the tips of her fingers, spreading out into a six inch diameter. It hit Sasuke with deadly precision in one of his vital points located in the chest, right below the heart, forcing him back.

That's not to say that Sakura was completely unharmed, however. Due to the Chidori's violent nature of sparking and spreading, there were multiple areas on Sakura's body where the electricity met her skin and burned her ruthlessly. Lucky for her it wasn't fatal, whereas Sasuke wouldn't survive the night without medical assistance.

Behind her, Koraseru growled menacingly at the fatally wounded boy on the ground for hurting her apprentice, only remained still because Sakura gave no other orders.

Weakly, and once again almost exhausted of her chakra, Sakura made her way over to the fallen Uchiha, with Neji's eyes following her every step. Something was off, because normally Sakura would've left it at that or rush over to make sure the wounds kept the enemy from moving, but not allow them to die.

With wide eyes he came to a conclusion; Inner Sakura was in control once again.

But how could that be? Sakura never released her, nor were her features any different than before…

When Sakura made it to Sasuke's side, she reached down and picked him up by the collar of his shirt, all but snarling out, "Uchiha, if you by some chance survive this encounter, and if you _**ever **_come near us again, you'll be just as good as dead… Am I understood? I should hope so…"

With that, Sakura unceremoniously dropped him to the ground, not giving any sort of sign that she heard his groan of pain as he once again connected with the ground.

_Rebirthing now_

_I wanna live for love, wanna live for you and me_

_Breathe for the first time now_

_I've come alive somehow_

Is it too late to change that conclusion? Perhaps it is Inner Sakura, but didn't she say that they shared certain qualities? Could it be that they are speaking together, lending each other support and strength? Could Inner Sakura have taken over in a way, but also left Sakura in control?

It appeared that that was the case, because as Sakura moved farther and farther away from the Uchiha and closer to his generally helpless form, her features changed from furious and unmerciful to worried and concerned.

"Neji-kun! Oh, Kami-sama, gomen!" she whispered as she knelt by his side. "Where are you injured?"

Koraseru, Kima, Junshin, Koneko, as well as all of the other summons rushed to Sakura's side as she examined Neji, careful where she put her hands as to avoid putting them directly on his injury.

"…" Neji was silent for a moment, just taking in the pink-haired medic-nin sitting beside him, relief rushing over him in knowing that she was alright.

"Neji-kun! Answer the question!" she demanded, genuinely concerned with his lack of attention.

"Nan demo nai, Sakura… Only my leg… I'll live," he finally replied, not wishing to worry her after her stressful encounter.

"Only your leg, Neji-kun? Ja… I suppose it could've been worse…" she whispered, down-casting her eyes. Abruptly she looked up at him. "I glad you're okay, Neji-kun," she told him, unsure if it would be appropriate to hug him.

As if sensing her discomfort, but knowing her true feelings, Kima, the mischievous leopard, ever so discreetly walked behind Sakura and nudged her ever so slightly, causing her to lose her balance and to fall onto Neji, narrowly missing his injured leg and connecting her lips against his.

At first, the two were frozen with shock, trying to sort out what happened, before Neji took the initiative by wrapping his arms around Sakura's waist, bringing her closer and actually turning the lip-lock into a real kiss.

Sakura's hands found themselves upon Neji's chest, shyly allowing him to pull her closer. Once she realized that Neji wasn't pushing her away but actually continuing the kiss, she started to return it, deepening it by entangling her fingers in his hair.

Soon the lip on lip contact wasn't enough, as Neji's tongue started running over her bottom lip as if to ask for entrance, which Sakura happily allowed.

As the Neji's tongue started to stroke Sakura's in an attempt to coax her to do so as well, they were interrupted by what sounded like a growl… Or was it a chuckle?

Immediately they separated, coming face to face with all of Sakura's summons, some, like Kima in particular, looking quite pleased with themselves, while others, like Koraseru, were growling in a motherly protective way.

_Rebirthing now,_

_I wanna live my life wanna give you everything_

_Breathe for the first time now_

_I've come alive somehow_

Sakura smiled sheepishly, a blush tinting her cheeks. "Ja, Neji-kun, let's have a look at that leg," she suggested, trying to keep down the school-girlish giggles that threatened to spill out.

'_You see what I mean? Can you see what I have to live for? What we have to live for?'_ she asked Inner Sakura, knowing that she made the right decision in releasing her Inner.

_**'Ja, perhaps you're right… But listen to me, Sweet**__**ie**__**, if he ever hurts you, I swear to Kami-sama that he'll be in for the beating of his life!'**_ declared the Inner, cracking her figment knuckles for effect.

'_Of that I have no doubt!'_

"Ja, Neji-kun, it seems that your leg was broken, but luckily nothing was shattered or out of place," she reported, smiling sincerely at him with a hint of pink still on her cheeks.

"Good… Ja, even if we didn't get the scroll, we should return back to Konoha… if we come up against another enemy we're done for, and I would never forgive myself if anything ever happened to you, Sakura," he admitted, trying his best to keep his own blush from showing up on his cheeks.

Sakura's smile only widened at the fact that Neji was expressing his feelings for her, though he still kept many of them hidden. It was nice to know that he cared about her.

"Um, Sakura-hime?" Koneko tried, scampering up to Sakura's side with something in her paws. Apparently while the two shinobi weren't looking, she went through the unconscious Uchiha's supplies. "Is this the scroll you were looking for?"

Sakura took the scroll from Koneko and examined it, finding that it was in fact the stolen scroll they were sent to retrieve.

"Arigato, Koneko-chan. Hai, that is our scroll! Tsunade-shishou will be pleased!" she exclaimed to the kitten, scratching behind her ears appreciatively.

"Deshi," purred Koraseru, making her way to Sakura's side. "I will take you two back to your village, for the journey is long and you are exhausted. I'm very proud of you."

"Arigato, Koraseru-sama," replied Sakura, bowing her head to the giant tigress. "Arigato everyone! I hope to see you soon!" she said, waving goodbye to all of her other summons, effectively dismissing them. Before they all returned, however, Sakura was able to catch the smug look on Kima's face, immediately knowing who was the cause behind her and Neji's kiss.

With help from Koraseru, Neji and Sakura were upon her back, clutching tightly to her fur so as to stay on board.

"So, Neji-kun, I guess our mission was a success," said Sakura, turning her head to look back at the Hyuga.

"Hai, Sakura, I'd say it was as well," he replied, though thinking of a different reason that brought a small but genuine smile to his face.

_Right now_

_(I've come alive somehow)_

_Right now_

_(I've come alive somehow)_

When they returned to Konoha, everyone in the village would know that Haruno Sakura and Hyuga Neji are now officially a couple.

**End**

A/N: So, how was it? I rather liked how it turned out, but I'm not so sure about the kiss… You see, I've never really written one before…

Well, please review if you liked it! I have so many OneShot and multi-chapter story ideas, I don't know what to do with them all!

Ja ne!

-Kaiso-chan


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